Taxi Management Software for Fleet Owners in Turkey and Bulgaria

Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, but the lev did not vanish overnight. Both currencies circulated together through January, and taxi drivers had to accept either, calculating conversions carefully. Before the switch, suppliers warned that more than 20,000 taxi meters needed reprogramming. Across the Black Sea, Istanbul has been selling plates for a new class of taxi that takes passengers only through apps.

Two markets, one shared pressure. Fares, payments, and trip records now have to be digital, accurate, and easy to audit. That is why taxi management software has become a core tool for fleet owners in both countries, handling city-level rule changes as well as everyday dispatch.

What Fleet Owners Actually Need

Most fleet owners do not need more features. They need fewer manual tasks, fewer fare errors, and records they can trust when an inspector, accountant, or passenger asks questions.

A reliable taxi dispatch solution should handle three jobs well:

• Assigning trips quickly, either automatically to a suitable driver or manually by a dispatcher handling phone bookings, airport runs, and corporate clients.
• Keeping driver and vehicle documents organised in one place, so licences, inspections and insurance can be checked before anyone accepts a trip.
• Producing clean financial records, including invoices, driver payouts and tax statements, without staff copying numbers between spreadsheets at month-end.

As one example, Mobility Infotech's taxi dispatch software page lists hybrid dispatch with automatic or manual assignment, and a manual override for phone and VIP bookings. It also describes digital driver onboarding with automated document verification, auto-generated tax and payout statements, and localisation for each city's language, currency and regulations. Its FAQ adds driver document management and vehicle licensing trackers.

Turkey: Apps, Audits and Fare Tiers

Istanbul plans 2,500 new app-based taxis, but the rollout is far from complete. After nine tender rounds, 656 plates had been sold by July 2026, with the latest round selling only 23 of 250. These taxis are licensed for 29 years and must find passengers through apps rather than street hails.

Auditing is tightening too. Smart taximeters in app-based taxis let authorities compare app revenue with meter revenue. Ride-hailing app providers also had to send driver and bank account details to Turkey's Revenue Administration by 30 May 2026.

Multiple Fare Classes

Turkish fleets often run more than one tariff. Under the UKOME-administered tariff, turquoise taxi fares are 15% higher than orange taxi fares, while black luxury taxi fares are 70% higher. Your taxi management app for drivers should apply the correct class automatically, so nobody calculates fares from memory.

Frequent Price Changes

Istanbul's taxi fares are revised regularly. After the September 2025 update, the meter starting fare was 54.50 TL, the per-kilometre rate 36.30 TL, and the short-distance minimum 175 TL. Eyüp Aksu, head of the Istanbul Taxi Drivers' Chamber, then pushed for more: "Our demand is at least 30 percent." Software that updates tariffs centrally saves hours each time UKOME decides.

Bulgaria: Life After the Euro Switch

Bulgaria's change was bigger than a new currency symbol. Prices had to be shown in both leva and euros from 8 August 2025 to 8 August 2026, and taxi drivers had to follow the dual pricing rule from 31 October 2025. Fleets now need clean euro records alongside readable leva history.

Fares moved too. Sofia's 2026 municipal limits set a minimum daytime tariff of approximately $0.82 per kilometre and a night minimum of $0.94. The maximum daytime tariff is around $1.39 per kilometre, and Sofia will now index fares annually using inflation, the minimum wage, and fuel prices.

For multi-city fleets, taxi management software should store separate fare rules for each municipality, including day and night rates, minimums and caps. Check that reports and invoices show euro amounts correctly, and that older leva records remain readable for audits.

Features That Matter Most in Both Markets

Turkey and Bulgaria regulate taxis differently, but strong cab management software solves similar problems in both. Prioritise these:

1. Per-city tariff tables. Day, night, and vehicle-class rates should be editable by your admin team, with changes reaching every driver at once.
2. Language settings that match your market. Choose interface languages based on your operating cities, your drivers, and your passengers. A Sofia fleet serving locals has different needs from an Istanbul airport operator.
3. Document tracking. Licences, vehicle inspections, and insurance records should be stored and checked before drivers go online, reducing the risk of lapsed paperwork during roadside checks.
4. Digital payment records. Every card or app payment should link to a trip, a driver, and a receipt, making disputes and audits easier.
5. Open integrations. An API lets you connect accounting tools, corporate booking portals, or other systems your fleet already uses.

Where the Practical Savings Come From

Software does not cut costs by itself. Savings come from removing repeated manual work.

Automated dispatch reduces the time dispatchers spend matching drivers by phone. Centrally managed tariffs reduce fare errors after each price change. Digital payment reconciliation links every payment to a trip, so month-end checks take less effort and billing disputes are easier to settle. The size of these gains depends on your fleet, so track your own before-and-after numbers during a trial.

Protecting Passenger and Driver Data

Fleets in Turkey must follow the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK), while Bulgarian fleets fall under the EU's GDPR. No software makes you compliant on its own, but the right setup helps. Ask every vendor:

• Where servers are located, and whether data is transferred outside Turkey or the EU, since both legal regimes place conditions on cross-border transfers.
• Which staff roles can view passenger phone numbers, trip histories, and payment details, and whether access can be restricted by role.
• How long trip and payment records are kept, and whether you can set retention periods that match your accounting and legal needs.
• Whether the vendor will sign a data processing agreement that clearly defines its responsibilities as a processor of your data.

Questions to Ask Before You Switch

Changing systems mid-season can disrupt bookings. Before you sign with any cab software vendor, ask:

• Can we migrate existing trip records, driver profiles, and customer accounts, and in what format?
• Will the platform work with our current payment providers and card terminals, or do we need new contracts?
• How will drivers be onboarded, and what training and support do they receive during the first weeks?
• Can we pilot with a small group of drivers in one city before moving the whole fleet?
• How quickly can tariffs be updated when UKOME or a Bulgarian municipality changes rates at short notice?

Choosing Software That Keeps Up

Regulators in both countries are moving taxis toward digital booking, digital payments, and records that can be checked. For fleet owners, the decision comes down to three questions. Can the software adapt quickly to local tariffs? Can it keep reliable records for inspectors and accountants? Can it scale as you add cities or vehicles?

Mobility Infotech offers a 21-day free trial with no credit card required. Use it to load your own city's tariffs, run payments through your usual workflow, and check document records before committing to any taxi management software.